


Natsu's legacy

by DancedemdemDance



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Character Death, Multi, Next Generation, Next-Gen, Old Age, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Sad, Young Natsu, old Natsu, other ships up to reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-09 03:31:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20481809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancedemdemDance/pseuds/DancedemdemDance
Summary: Pretty much what the titel says. Natsu is old and we follow him as he looks at the legacy he and his friends are leaving behind.





	Natsu's legacy

Natsu was walking down the roads of Magnolia. The sun was shining brightly and everything was peaceful. The pink haired boy looked around at the busy marked place. People were going about their business in the hot summer sun. Things were bought and slow everywhere. Children were playing and people were chatting. Normally it would bring peace to the young man, but today nothing seemed to put him at ease. Ever since he had woken up this morning he had had a feeling of dread like something awful was about to happen today. This feeling was only supported by the behavior of the woman next to him. She was looking at the ground and hadn't said a word to him other than what was absolutely necessary. Her long blond hair was hanging loosely over her shoulders and helped covering her eyes, but Natsu could still see the sadness all over her face.

"So where are we going anyway?" he asked to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them after they left the house. She didn't answer right away and she seemed to think hard about a respond. In the end she let out a sigh.

"You'll see when we get there" she said sadly and it sounded like she was about to cry at any time.

"What's the matter? You seem so sad today" Natsu said and placed his hands behind his head as they walked away from the marked and seemingly headed for the edge of the city. They continued walking in absolute silence as Natsu sensed that he wasn't going to get anything else out of her. They walked all the way out of the city and as they neared the edge of the forest a small cottage came into view. It was covered in plants and if one didn't know where it was it was easy to miss completely or simply seen as an abandoned cottage, but the smoke from the chimney confirmed that there was someone there. Natsu stood completely frozen and looked at it. The blonde woman had stopped with him and let it sink in on its own where they were. He carefully took a step forward, she didn't follow. The pink haired man continued to take uncertain steps towards the tiny house. He reached a sign and after pushing the vegetation on it aside he saw his name on it along with another name. He turned to look at the woman with complete shook. He knew where he was, there could only be one person living here and he had always wanted to come here. He shook his head as he didn't want to get his hopes up if he was wrong.

"Mom is this what I think it is?" he asked carefully as if afraid for the answer. She just looked at him sadly and nodded. Tears were staring to gather in her eyes and Natsu turned around and stormed over to the door. He burst through it to come face to face with his biggest hero. A hero he had had since he was a tiny little boy and heard the stories for the first time. The inside was a pretty fine mess. Dirty plates and other used kitchen tools were scattered all over the place and clothes were thrown everywhere, but in-between all that he easily spotted all the artifacts from the stories he had grown up with. A weathered autograph was pinned to a board with a knife and countless requests were also pinned up. Some had small notes that told if anything special had happened on that mission. A maid outfit was placed neatly on a manikin, rocks, necklaces, other outfits and all kinds of weapons were all displayed with great care. Natsu had been to the Fairy Tail museum a million times so he knew what everything looked like but to see them in real life was something completely different.

"So there you are" a weak voice greeted him. Natsu turned his attention to the small fireplace and found an old man. The old man looked at him with warm eyes and Natsu looked at his hero. "Well don't stand there gawking come in already. I hope you brought your mother" he demanded and Natsu did as his great-great-grandfather the fire dragon slayer Natsu Dragneel asked of him and stepped over the doorstep.

"Hello" Natsu said as the only thing and was otherwise completely dumbfounded. The elder Natsu noticed this and instantly started laughing at the young man.

"If that's the only thing you can think of then I'm worried for my good name getting a bad reputation, hahaha" the old man said teasingly. The old man had long white hair and a rather long beard. His face was wrinkled and dry like many old people, but his eyes were still full of life and a warmth one could almost feel. Even in old age the dragon slayer radiated with energy and happiness. He was dressed like he always was when he was young and the scarf was as always wrapped around his neck. A cane was resting against the chair. It was far from the first time the two of them meet. Natsu had always been a big part of his family no matter how many generations passed, besides he had been the one to teach the younger Natsu dragon slayer magic. The laughter soon turned to a bad coughing fit and Natsu's mom came running in to make sure the old man was going to be okay.

"You need to take it easy great-grandfather" she scolded motherly and continued to fuss over the old man all the while her son stood frozen in front of his hero. He had grown up knowing his great-great-grandfather, but he had ever been to his house before, he didn't even know where to look for it. In that way the old man had made a mystery about himself. It seemed that no one had known where the famous dragon slayer lived and the old man preferred to keep it that way. After calming down the old Natsu once again turned to the spitting image of himself when he was younger.

"Ahhhh I start missing my good old days whenever I look at you" Natsu said, but there was a certain warmth to it that made the comment seem more like a compliment than a complaint. "So what do you think" Natsu asked and leaned forward as if he was telling a secret only for the other Natsu to hear. The young man looked around and took in all the treasures he had always dreamed of seeing.

"It's wonderful" he said with wonder in his eyes. The old man started laughing again, but that also turned to coughing.

"Hand me a stick kid" Natsu said and the younger quickly walked over to the small fire and pulled out a rod. He handed it to the old man, but before the old man could inhale the fire like he used to when he was younger he was interrupted by his great-grandchild.

"Don't you dare inhale. Your lungs can't handle it anymore. You may eat it slowly" she instructed and left no room for arguing.

"Just like your great-grandmother" the old Natsu grumbled. The younger man snickered behind his hand, as he knew all too well how much his mother resembled Lucy Dragneel.

"Don't you start with me" she scolded as the old man ate the fire calmly.

"Ahhhh now I have a fire in my belly" the old man said and the younger of them light up at the motto. Natsu grabbed the cane next to the chair and started to stand up.

"Careful now" she said and tried to assist the old man, but he waved her away in an irritated manner.

"Ahhhh will you stop your fussing woman" the senior growled irritated "it's gonna take more than that to take this mighty dragon slayer down" the old man tried to straighten himself to look more heroic, but it didn't quite work.

"My name is Licy" she growled angrily after the old man. He headed for the door, but the other two didn't follow him at first. Natsu stopped in the door and looked back on them.

"Come on then slowpokes" he said teasingly and then turned to the younger Natsu "I'll race you to the guild hall, little dragon"

"Oh no you don't" Licy yelled and tried to grab her son, but he was already out the door with his great-great-grandfather. She let out a sigh and walked over to the door and saw her son jog calmly next to her great-grandfather. It brought tears to her eyes that someone could be so old and yet be so young inside. Everyone knew that the old dragon slayer had been trapped in his aging body for a long time and it always hurt to see him bend over in a coughing fit or when he almost fell because his legs couldn't bare him anymore and yet she smiled at the sight of the two racing. She quickly started jogging too in order to catch up to them.

"Give up old man" Natsu said and smiled as he jogged a little faster to get in front of the old man.

"I haven't given up a single fight and I sure aint starting now" the old man gasped with a smile and wobbled as fast as he could. He knew that there was no way that he could actually win an honest race against his fireball of a great-great-grandson, but they had always raced and it was more for the tradition than the actual race. The young man could never ask for a race so he had to be the one to engage in the challenge. When the guildhall came into view the old man was completely out of breath and the young man had slowed from a jog to a quick talking pace next to the elder to spare him as much exertion as possible.

"You fight good old man" Natsu said to the old man as they came to a stop in front of the gate to the guild. Natsu looked at the fragile man with a bit of guilt because he knew very well how weak the other was.

"Get me inside" the dragon slayer gasped and struggled for breath. He held his hand out for the younger to take and Natsu instantly helped the elder inside and placed him on a seat. Licy came in right after them and watched them from afar.

"Oh my goodness is he okay?" a young girl asked and came over to them. She had long dark blue hair and a long dress on. On her wrist she had a thin twisted metal bracelet.

"Get me something to drink will you?" the old Natsu asked and she instantly ran up to the bar to get him what he wanted.

"Did you have another race?" she asked as she came back and handed the cup to the old man.

"That's none of your business" Natsu growled back. This caused a young man to come over to them.

"Hey watch it. That's my sister you're talking to hothead" the boy also had dark blue hair. He wore long black pant and as usual he was topless. This allowed him to show off his Fairy Tail tattoo on his chest and around his neck he wore a necklace that had been passed down in the family for generations.

"And what are you going to do about it iceberg?" Natsu growled as the two butted heads and lightning flew between their eyes.

"Cut it out you two" a girl called from across the room. Her long, wild black hair was tied in a pony tail, her pricings and gothic clothes made her very intimidating to look at. She glared at the two and dared them to continue.

"You want a piece of me too" Natsu yelled and turned to her. She only snorted in irritation before looking away.

"Stop this all of you" a young man instructed his short red hair was a famous trade and instantly gave his identity away and if it didn't then his armor certainly did.

"Yes sir" Natsu and the blue haired boy said at once. The old man behind them then burst into laughter and the rest of the guild hall soon followed, but that stopped when Natsu started coughing again.

"It sure is nice to see that some things never change" he said and smiled sadly to himself as he looked around at the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even some great-great-grandchildren of all his friends.  
He remembered his rival Gray, his teammate Erza and his fellow dragon slayer friend Gajeel. He remembered all of them. From the old man Makarov to young Lisanna, from sweet openhearted Wendy to the mysterious Freed. He missed then greatly and wished he could be with them again, but he was the last of the famous Fairy Tail generation. What hurt the most was that he could see all his friends in almost everyone in the guild, but it also brought him great joy to know that he could leave his beloved guild in good hands. Everyone here treasured Fairy Tail just as much as he and his friends did when they were still alive.  
Natsu closed his eyes for a moment and just listened to the life around him. He could hear everyone talking, laughing and even some fighting. He smiled to himself as he imagined that the fighting was him and Gray having one last fight. The old man was brought out of his little dream world when someone touched his knee. Natsu opened his eyes to see a little girl with long light blue hair. He smiled at her and waited for her to ask the question he was always asked by children and even some adults.

"Will you tell me a story?" she asked and this caused everyone to turn to them and everyone quickly asked for one of the heroic stories they had all grown up with. The old man chuckled at this. His generation and their adventures had become known all over Fiore and were today known as The Famous Generation.

"Of cause I will" Natsu said with a smile and moved further into the building so everyone would hear him. He started his story and the entire guild went quiet as they all listened to the adventure they all wished they would get to experience one day. During the tale other members came and joined them. They would come through the door loudly and then get hushed before tiptoeing to a seat and joined the rest. When Natsu finished he got applause from the crowd and they were just about to go back to their business when the old man called his young copy over with a serious look. The seriousness in it made everyone stay quiet as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. The young Natsu carefully stepped closer to his great-great-grandfather who smiled to him, but his eyes held a serious tone.

"I have something for you" the old man said and grabbed his scarf and unwrapped it, before placing it behind the younger's neck and carefully wrapped it around his neck. The entire guild gasped, but otherwise stayed quiet in respect of the moment. The young Natsu stood completely frozen as he was handed the greatest treasure his great-great-grandfather possessed. "This scarf was given to me by the great fire dragon Igneel. It has protected me and now it will protect you. From one dragon slayer to another I ask that you treasure it as I have" the old man said as he wrapped it around the young dragon slayer. He held onto it for a moment before letting go. The young Natsu looked at the old man in front of him and was surprised to see that the old man had tears in his eyes. The younger knew what this meant and he didn't want to accept it, but he knew that he had to. He looked down and clenched his hands tightly. He bid his lower lip to prevent tears from falling. The old man then turned his attention to the rest of the guild, most of them also had tears in their eyes as they too knew what was about to happen.

"NO I WON'T ACCEPT IT" the young Natsu yelled, but the old man in front of him just chuckled.

"It's high time for this old dragon to land and make room in the sky for the young once" he said calmly.

"No you have never given up before so why now?" the younger asked and his voice broke as tears started falling. He looked at the old man in sadness and anger. The elder turned to him with a very serious face.

"When I was your age a good friend of mine thought me that there is no shame in standing down. There is a big difference between standing down and giving up. I had to stand down as guild master just as I'm now standing down as dragon slayer" Natsu explained.

"No you can't, you can't leave the Fairy Tail guild" Natsu cried desperately. The elder Natsu grasped hold of the younger's shoulder and looked him in the eyes very seriously.

"I am not leaving the guild. I never will because now a piece of me will always be with you and as long as you are in Fairy Tail so will I" Natsu reassured him and the younger started crying even harder and for the first time no one said anything teasingly about the tears since pretty much everyone was crying their eyes out at the moment. Licy came over to stand behind her son in support. She placed her hands on her son's shaking shoulders. She too had tears streaming down her face. Natsu looked at her lovingly and let his hand find rest on her cheek. She leaned into the touch and Natsu whipped a tear away. "You look so much like my beloved Lucy. I see her in everything you do. Treasure her legacy and her gift for you, my little guild master" Natsu said and Licy let one of her hand's find rest on the small leather purse with some very special keys.

"I will" her voice broke as more tears ran down her cheeks. Natsu turned to her son once more.

"Here take this" Natsu handed the young man the key to his house "your mom wants to give my treasures to the museum, make sure she doesn't for me okay?" the old man asked and padded the younger's shoulder, but the younger didn't get to answer, when suddenly a light appeared out of nowhere and when it faded Leo stood in his usual black suit with sunglasses.

"I'm glad I made it" he said calmly.

"Well I'm honored that the great Lion have time to see an old man off" Natsu said in a joking manner. It brought a small smile to Leo's face.

"I have been around for many years and have been passed from owner to owner many times but never did it hurt as much as when Lucy passed away. For the first and probably the last time I envy that you can die" Leo said with a serious voice "I will cherish our memories like I never have before and I will make it my mission to make sure that your stories are told correctly"

"I am glad that you feel that way and I honestly pity you for having to carry this burden alone. I remember all too clearly how Wendy desperately held on to life because she didn't want me to be alone, and I think I understand how she felt now" Natsu said with a sad smile "but for now just make sure you protect my dear Licy"

"I will, you have my word" Leo said and bowed to Natsu in respect before closing his gate and returning to the celestial world.

"And to all of you; I may not me your guild master anymore but I want you to remember that this guild is your family and you have to protect it. I have been afraid to grow old because I feared for what would happen to the guild, but now I see that I never had anything to fear and I leave the future of this guild in your hands. I beg of you to cherish it well" Natsu said and then started walking towards the door.

The younger Natsu tried to follow but the grip on his shoulder prevented him from doing so. Everyone was trying to comfort each other but nothing seemed to help at the moment so they just silently shared their tears as they would share their happiness another day. The old man suddenly stumbled to the side and everyone took a small step forward or halfway stood from their seat in order to help the old man, but Natsu regained his balance a moment later. He turned to look back at Licy and Natsu. He gave them a smile that went from ear to ear and gave them a thumb up as a sign that he was alright. He turned back and continued to the door and just as he was about to walk outside he lifted his arm in the air and made the Fairy Tail salute. If someone didn't have tears in their eyes before they certainly had now and with tear running down every cheek they all saluted the old dragon slayer back. The old man never turned around to see it but they knew that he saw it.

Natsu slowly walked through the city as he headed for the South Gate Park. As he walked people would part way for him and bow in respect for the hero, but Natsu didn't even notice this. He was completely lost in thought as he walked with a smile on his lips. No one talked to him and he was really grateful for that because he just wanted to be left alone for the moment, but also because he didn't have anything to say to anyone anymore. The walk seemed to take forever and it irritated the old man as he just wanted to get to his destination as fast as possible. When he finally made it he looked at the few people there. He saw a few couples walking close together and just enjoyed the summer sun. He saw two small boys run around chasing a ball and their mothers watched them play from a banked on the grass. Everything was so peaceful. He walked over to the monument that had been made in honor of The Great Generation. It didn't just feature Natsu and his closest friends and team; it featured every single member from Bickslow to Mystogan. Even Lucy's celestial spirits were carved into the base of the monument. Natsu let his hand run over the carvings as he thought about how he had feared growing old and alone. He's biggest fear of being the only one left was that he would start forgetting someone, but thanks to the monument he remembered every single friend he had made in the guild. The dragon slayer looked at every face and his eyes rested a moment longer on Lucy's. When he stood there no one bothered him at all. Everyone knew that he spent almost all day, every day just looking at the monument and no one dared to interrupt him when he looked at it in respect for his lose. A bench had been placed in front of the monument for Natsu and no one else ever used it.

"Well here I am again" Natsu said sadly as tears formed in his eyes. He loved his family and wouldn't trade the time he had had for anything, but he missed his friends so terribly and he knew when enough was enough. He carefully sat down under the statue and tipped his head towards the sky. He could just see some parts of the people in the monument and then the clear blue sky. Natsu's sad smile turned into a genuine one as he let memories flow over him as he fell asleep.

Natsu woke up hours after lying down. He looked at the sun and was relieved to find that it was just past midday. He quickly got up and dusted himself off and started running towards the guildhall in excitement. His long clothes were flapping behind him and his scarf was bouncing around his neck. People yelled after him as he ran through the crowded marked, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. Soon the guildhall came into view and a smile spread over the dragon slayers face and he incised his speed. He leaped into the air and burst through the doors to the guild where he found all his friends waiting for him. He laughed loudly as he saw them.

"Hey guys you miss me?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ^_^ Feedback is always welcome :-)


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